Immigration reform will be a hot topic in Colorado’s upcoming fall elections. Former Congressman Tom Tancredo, who is running for governor, has begun airing Spanish ads in the state to appeal to Hispanics. Governor John Hickenlopper, meanwhile, will need to walk a tightrope by softening his pro-illegal amnesty position that the majority of Coloradans oppose.

A Gallup poll in 2013 found that 60 percent of Americans want immigration policy adjusted by the federal government. Nearly 200,000 illegal immigrants are currently living in Colorado, according to the Center for Immigration studies. A Pew study estimates that more than 11 million illegal immigrants are living in the U.S. About 55 percent are from Mexico.

The government’s legal system is failing in its mission to unite the families of legal immigrants. More than four million immigrants are backlogged in the system, waiting for permission to bring their families into the U.S., according to National Issues Forum.

One interesting fact concerning immigrants is that the U.S. will process immigrant paperwork more rapidly if that immigrant is deemed to have value to the U.S. For example, a UK immigrant with a Ph.D will wait about six months for a green card, according to the National Immigration forum, a supporter of immigration. A computer programmer from India may need to wait years for that green card.

Immigration proponents complain that the backlog is the result of the 911 attacks. U.S. immigration authorities fear that transforming the cumbersome process will allow terrorists to slip through.

It should be noted that the majority of immigrants are in the U.S. legally by following established law. Schemes like blanket amnesty for illegals will likely undermine the entire legal system.